Kiss Me
by WizMonCruWil
Summary: Peeta has won the 74th Hunger Games. When Prim gets Reaped a few years later, how will he and her sister Katniss deal with one another? These are all moments where I thought of Katniss taking the initiative to kiss Peeta, or demanding that he kiss her. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: Public Displays of Affection

**Chapter 1: Public Displays of Affection**

I tug my hunting jacket closer to me as I approach the mansion in the Victor's Village. I have to make quicker time than usual this morning, due to the fact that today is technically a holiday in District 12. Reaping Day for the Hunger Games.

Thankfully, my customer is waiting outside on his front stoop, so I won't have to knock. Peeta Mellark, the Victor of the 74th Hunger Games just three years ago, was once a classmate of mine in school, though we never spoke at all. However, I have for years felt myself to be in Peeta's debt, as he once threw burned bread to me when my family and I were starving.

Upon peering up at me through the lashes of golden hair tumbling into his face, Peeta's face brightens into a beam. "Ah, Katniss! Come on in!"

I smile shyly as I follow him into his huge house. Peeta is only the third Victor from our District, and only one of two still alive. The Victor of the 2nd Hunger Games, Lyndon Sunslayer, passed away long ago. And the other is, well... a drunk.

As I follow Peeta into his dining room to begin my trade, I hear banging and other activity coming from the kitchen just off to the side.

"Is your father working here?" I ask. I have often traded with the Baker squirrels for fresh bread at the Mellark Bakery in town.

Peeta grimaces almost apologetically. "I wish," he says slowly. "My oven here is quite bigger than the ones at the bakery, so I let my mother use mine sometimes."

Huh. I had never given much thought to the amenities of a Victor's mansion, first of all that District 12 has had so few of them. Of course, Peeta would view a large oven as practically heaven-sent, but what would his mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, do with an oven? Not much, probably. The old drunk and Victor of the 50th Hunger Games would sooner burn his own mansion down than cook a halfway decent meal for himself.

Meanwhile, I present my trades to Peeta and he smiles at the pelt and meat. "Let me just get you some cash." But he has quite a time rummaging around for some coin, digging through the pockets of several trousers lying around before moving on to some dressers. "You'll have to forgive me," he grimaces. "The place isn't usually like this. I don't want you to think I live in a pigsty like Haymitch. But... the Reaping..."

I nod sympathetically. "I know."

We lapse into a small silence. Peeta turns back to me in his search. "I, uh... saw you from a distance trading in the Hob the other day," he tosses over his shoulder. "That Peacekeeper fellow, Darius. Did I really overhear him offer you a kiss in exchange for your game?"

I actually throw back my head and laugh. "Oh, he always does. It's an inside joke."

Peeta smirks conspiratorially. "You should just grab him and suck his face off, for the hell of it. Would that be a big surprise."

I shift a little, looking down at my feet as I ponder the subject matter. "Well, I've never been eager to kiss anybody, never mind out of the blue. Besides, I'd be bad at it."

"Being good or bad at it is irrelevant. What should matter is the quality of your partner."

I peer at him, with something between a frown and an amused smirk. "Darius is a Peacekeeper."

"... And the only decent one in this whole District, besides Purnia," Peeta points out.

I think back to the red haired, attractive woman who often is making the rounds with Darius. "Yeah... I'm not kissing Purnia."

Peeta guffaws. "Well, whoever said you would?" He throws down a pair of jeans in frustration when both pockets turn up empty. "Damn it, where is there some cash around here?"

I try to be understanding. "You can always trade with bread."

"Oh, I would, if Mother wasn't here. She hates bread going to waste." And he actually sounds a little intimidated. Scared, even. I have a good idea why. Mrs. Mellark is rumored to be a witch of a woman who possibly even beats her own sons.

Indeed, just then, I hear a pronounced creak in the floorboards. Peeta's eyes dart to the kitchen door. "Crap! She might be coming out. And if she sees me trading with you..." He need not explain. I have arrived at the Bakery before, only to find the Witch, and not the Baker, waiting for me. She hates anyone Seam like me. Peeta's search for coins turns more desperate.

But I hear the witch coming closer, and I know she will appear in the dining room at any moment. No coin, and Peeta can't get bread for me at the moment. I find myself thinking back to Darius's flirtations from the other day, and I get a crazy idea. I face Peeta, my expression in a grim line and no-nonsense.

"Kiss me," I order.

"What?" Peeta gapes.

"Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable."

"Yes, they do..."

The door is opening. I grab Peeta and slam my lips into his, in a clumsy kiss. I make a show of wrapping my arms about him, and a stunned Peeta awkwardly encircles his hands about my waist and tries to kiss me back. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the Witch blink in astonishment, and expect her to pull us apart in a rage, furious that her Victor son would dare to lock lips with a Seam woman. But, instead, she shakes her head and stomps out of the mansion, muttering, "Seam brats... daft, every one of them..."

When the door bangs shut, I pull away from Peeta, breaking the hasty kiss. Peeta is staring at me as if he has never seen me before, until he gives an awkward grin.

"I thought she was going to scream at us."

I bite back an embarrassed grin of my own. "So did I."

We stand there in an incredibly awkward tableau, our faces flushing.

"Umm... what do I still owe you? For the trade?"

I shrug. "I think we're even. Some game for a kiss."

Peeta looks confused. "But you gave me both. You kissed me first."

I actually chuckle. "You kissed me back. That's payment enough." I shoulder my empty game bag, already thinking of how I will have to run home to change into some nice clothes. "See you at the Reaping."

And I hustle home, my mind dwelling on the kiss - my first kiss! - far more than I would like it to.


	2. Chapter 2: For Luck

**Chapter 2: For Luck**

Hours later, I stand despondently in the Justice Building with my mother. I am in shock, in fact, as I just said goodbye to my 15-year-old sister, Primrose, who has been Reaped as the female tribute for the 77th Annual Hunger Games.

I find myself enraged by the rules that dictated my aging out of the Reaping the year before. Otherwise, I would have readily thrown myself in front of my sister to take her place. And of course, there has never been a volunteer for the Games from District 12. Ever. With all our tributes dying save for three, volunteering from here would be tantamount to suicide.

Even worse are the bleak odds that are not in my sister's favor. No female from 12 has ever won the Games - our Victors have all been men. And all three, even Peeta, were a full year older than Prim at the time of their Victories. 15-year-olds have won the Games only a handful of times in Games history; it is very rare. And only once did any younger than that triumph, and this accomplishment occurred over a decade ago.

I see Peeta at a distance off, having emerged into the hallway to prepare to escort his tributes to the train. I shyly slide closer to him, in my blue Reaping dress and nervously tugging at the single braid running down my back. At first glance, he and I look somewhere between teenagers and truly young adult men and women, at 19 years old. As soon as Peeta spots me, he takes my hand.

"I will get Prim home alive, Katniss," and he seems almost deadly serious.

I just regard him sadly. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Peeta," I admonish him. "I would have volunteered for her, if I could have."

"And I would have been devastated if you did. Not that Prim getting picked is just as bad, it is. But, she will be Victor if I have anything to say about it."

Just then, the Witch passes by us. She scoffs. "The day you bring that little girl home a Victor is the day her sister says she'll marry you!" And she moves on, Peeta and I gaping after her. It's quite an odd 'When-Pigs-Fly' statement, and Peeta now sighs almost exasperatedly.

"I'm sorry, Katniss. Ever since Mom caught us kissing this morning, she thinks we've been seeing each other behind her back. I've tried to tell her..."

"I'd take that bet," I impulsively interrupt.

Peeta blinks. "What bet?"

I take a deep breath. "If you crown Primrose as Victor... I'll agree to marry you."

Peeta's eyes go wide. "You would promise that? You'd allow it?"

I nod grimly. "I'd allow it."

Further down the hall, I hear Haymitch bellowing for Peeta to follow him to the train. Peeta sighs. "Gotta go. Prim and I will see you later."

He holds out his hand to shake it. Regarding it, I suddenly bat his hand away and seize his face, kissing him passionately for the second time in a day. I release his lips from my own rather roughly. "For luck," I gasp.

And I watch as Peeta heads for the train.


	3. Chapter 3: Will You Just Stand Still?

**Chapter 3: Will You Just Stand Still?**

A few weeks later, Mother and I are back in the Justice Building, away from the paparazzi as we wait for history to be finalized in the annals of our land.

Primrose Everdeen became the Victor of the 77th Hunger Games, against all odds. Peeta managed to keep his word, through hell and high water. She outlasted bigger and older and stronger tributes than her in a harsh desert environment. Sponsors helped her, charmed by her still youthful cuteness.

Outside, we hear the roar of the crowd and know that the train has arrived at the station. Prim will be disembarking, followed by Peeta and Haymitch. Fairly soon, the three Victors are seemingly blown in by the crowd and media into the building, at last given some semblance of privacy.

Mother and I launch ourselves at Prim and hug her, bursting into tears. As soon as my relief has diminished and I have proven for myself that my sister is indeed alive, I approach Peeta. I raise my arms and rush towards him, but he steps back, wary.

"What are you doing?"

"Will you just stand still?" I bark. And taking him by the waist, I pull him flush against me and kiss his lips with mine. I draw away after a moment. Peeta rouses himself from his surprised stupor and advances to me.

"What are you doing?"

He smiles. "Will you just stand still?" And he throws his arms about me and kisses me in return. Closing my eyes, I allow myself to kiss him back. Peeta even dips me as he deepens the kiss.

When we break the kiss at last, I stare at him, perplexed. "Did I tell you to stop kissing me?"

Peeta blinks. "No..."

"Well, then kiss me again, dammit!" And I pull his mouth back down against mine.


	4. Chapter 4: Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not?

**Chapter 4: Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not?**

Six months following Prim's win, she has to depart across Panem for her Victory Tour. I accompany her to the train station, along with my sister's two mentors. As the Victors prepare to board the train, Peeta suddenly seizes my hand and drags me onto the locomotive and into the first empty car we come to, my blue Reaping dress flapping at my heels.

"What are you doing?" I hiss. But Peeta doesn't respond as he pulls out a diamond ring that would have cost a Seam girl like me a full year of trading to get. I stare, wide-eyed, as Peeta earnestly holds it out to me.

"Katniss Everdeen, will you marry me?"

It's only then that I remember our bet: that if Prim won the Games, I would agree to marry him. I had completely forgotten that it was my promise to keep. Besides, Peeta has been wonderful to me and especially my sister.

So despite my vow to once never wed, much less have children, for Peeta, I decide to take the plunge.

With purpose, I take the ring and jam it down on my ring finger. My face is serious as I grab Peeta by his collar.

"Is that a yes...?" Peeta stares.

"Are you gonna kiss me or not?" I snap, impatient.

And we move as one, our lips colliding into each other's at the same moment. Peeta's hands wander low quickly, groping me through the blue folds of my dress before I boldly raise my leg to his waist. Encouraged, my fiancé hoists me up the wall and we begin to make out. Far, far away, I hear the train whistle blow, warning its departure, but I don't care. All I care about is that I will now be the wife of a Victor, as well as the sister of another.


End file.
